Along an assembly line, diapers and various types of other absorbent articles may be assembled by adding components to and otherwise modifying an advancing, continuous web of material. For example, in some processes, advancing webs of material are combined with other advancing webs of material. In other examples, individual components created from advancing webs of material are combined with advancing webs of material, which in turn, are then combined with other advancing webs of material. Webs of material and component parts used to manufacture diapers may include: backsheets, topsheets, absorbent cores, front and/or back ears, fastener components, and various types of webs and components such as leg elastics, barrier leg cuff elastics, and waist elastics. Once the desired component parts are assembled, the advancing web(s) and component parts are subjected to a final knife cut to separate the web(s) into discrete diapers or other absorbent articles. The discrete diapers or absorbent articles may also then be folded and packaged.
As mentioned above, during the assembly process, advancing webs of material may be combined with other advancing webs of material. Generally, these webs of material are combined to form absorbent articles that provide qualities such as desired fit, leakage protection, and relatively limited irritation to the skin of the wearer of the absorbent article. To accomplish these objectives, absorbent articles having an opening that provides a passageway to void space for collected feces and urine have been proposed. Similarly, absorbent articles having a barrier member to create separate areas for urine and feces have also been proposed. However, manufacturers are still looking for ways to improve these qualities of absorbent articles.
It has been found that manufacturing absorbent articles having additional component parts is expensive. For example, adding component parts may require additional material cost and equipment costs. Further, these absorbent articles are difficult to manufacture due to the complexity of adding additional component parts to the absorbent article while maintaining relatively high manufacturing speeds.
Further still, it has been found that using adhesives, such as glue, in absorbent articles has become increasingly undesirable. For example, adhesives have been known to cause skin irritation to the wearer of the absorbent articles.
Thus, a need exists for improved apparatuses and methods of manufacturing absorbent articles that include discrete substrates having a rugosity.